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MCMAHON’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT
August 9, 2018
Taped from Toronto, Ontario (Rebel Complex)
Aired on Pop TV
Announcers: Josh Mathews & Don Callis
SEGMENT 1
— Impact opened with a cold open of LAX and the OGz brawling throughout the Rebel Entertainment Complex. They began brawling in a hallway and it spilled into a stairwell. At that point, some people began trying to breakup the fight. Hernandez powerbombed some guy into the wall off the stairs.
— The Impact opening montage aired.
— Gama Singh was in the ring and he introduced “the pride and joy of all India,” the Desi Hit Squad. Josh Mathews welcomed us to the show as the Desi Hit Squad made their entrance.
(1) Petey Williams & Taiji Ishimori def. The Desi Hit Squad
The finish of the match came after Williams hit a Canadian Destroyer, followed up with Ishimori landing a modified DDT for the pinfall. After the match, Don Callis talked about how Gama Singh would be punishing the Desi Hit Squad for the loss, speculating that they would have to do 1,000 squats.
— A pre-taped interviewed aired with Pentagon Jr.
(McMahon: Good athletic match to open the show. Overall, a strong opening segment with the brawl to open the show cold, and then a good match to keep the audience interested. It’s interesting to see them give Desi Hit Squad a loss so early on in their run, but Ishimori and Williams have been presented as two of their top stars in the X Division, and the Desi Hit Squad, as singles wrestlers, simply aren’t names yet).
SEGMENT 2
— Impact came back from the break with highlights of the LAX-OGz brawl to open the show.
— Alicia Atout interviewed Allie and Kiera Hogan backstage. Allie talked about her promise to stop Su Yung. Allie challenged Su to a match next week. Allie then said that Tessa thinks Allie is ploying for the Knockouts Title, but she’s wrong. This is about Allie stopping Su. Allie told Su to leave the belt at home, and she’d take a non-title match. Hogan Su to bring her undead bridesmaids and she would take care of them.
— Josh Mathews and Don Callis reset the show at ringside.
— A video package aired on Eddie Edwards, and his changes in recent months.
— Alicia Atout interviewed Austin Aries backstage. Aries talked about his match with Eddie Edwards in the main event tonight. He said that Edwards was always level-headed, and he’s known him for 10 years. Aries said that he’s not stepping in with the respected wrestler, he said that Edwards is a lunatic. Aries said that Edwards is now unpredictable and dangerous, and that has him worried … but just a little. Aries said no matter how unpredictable tonight will be, he guaranteed he’d come out on top.
(McMahon: Two backstage interviews here, and both were good. Allie was really strong selling her match with Su Yung next week and Aries was excellent in his interview, hyping the main event and also playing up how unpredictable Edwards has been in recent weeks.
It’s also so much more pleasing, as a viewer, to see Callis and Mathews at ringside. Not only has it helped the quality of the commentary, but that visual (rather than the green screen room they were in before), is so much better, especially with the atmosphere they’ve had in Toronto).
SEGMENT 3
— Back from the break, Grado is arguing with Joe Hendry and Katarina backstage. Katarina tried to explain what happened last week. Katarina asked Grado why he couldn’t be Drake on his own? Because Hendry did. Hendry asked Grado if he remembered when kids would smack his belly. Hendry said that he would take care of the kids who did that, and next week he’d take care of Drake. Grado said that Hendry saved his life once, and he would again.
(2) Tessa Blanchard def. Alisha Edwards
Josh had to acknowledge a “strange crowd” in Toronto, after they were cheering for Tessa during the match. Blanchard would score the victory after spiking Alisha with a DDT. After the match, Blanchard grabbed a mic and the crowd was chanting, “thank you Tessa!” … Tessa said she made an example of Alisha, and she wanted to tell Allie that while she might have everyone else fooled, she doesn’t have her fooled. Tessa said she knows what her intentions are, and she sees right through her. Tessa said that Allie only cares about herself and the Knockouts Title. Tessa said if Allie goes after Su Yung and the Knockouts Title, then Tessa is coming after her.
(McMahon: I’m genuinely surprised that Tessa didn’t squash Alisha in two minutes. We’ve barely seen Alisha on television as a wrestler, even though she has been a regular on the indie circuit in the New England area. It was surprising especially because of the obvious size difference between Tessa and Alisha.
The crowd reaction to Tessa was interesting. First of all, it’s really fun to be able to analyze crowd reaction on an Impact show. Thank God they’re out of Orlando! Tessa’s personality is not that of a babyface whatsoever, but she’s an ass-kicker and she’s cool. The crowd was not at all into Alisha, not only chanting for Tessa during the match, but starting a “Thank You Tessa!” chant after she beat Alisha. It’s possible, if Impact doesn’t run strong angles to keep her a heel, her ability to beat up opponents in the ring could make her a cool babyface, similar to what was happening with Brock Lesnar when he first returned to WWE in 2012 and 2013, and WWE was trying to clearly program him as a heel).
SEGMENT 4
— Alicia Atout interviewed Matt Sydal backstage.
— A promo aired for the Jericho Cruise, highlighting LAX vs. the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll vs. Sami Callihan.
— The GWM Moment of the Week aired, featuring Petey Williams against Chris Sabin from an episode of Impact.
— KM and Fallah Bahh were going over strategy backstage. Scarlet Bordeaux walked into the room and they both became distracted.
SEGMENT 5
— Some guy just walked into an office where Scott D’Amore and someone else from management was (we don’t see them on camera, but we hear them and see their hands), and they kicked him out. Bordeaux walked into the office and their tune changed. They welcomed her in and she said she felt unsafe because all of the Knockouts were so mean to her. D’Amore suggested that she get her own show and said they would do it next week.
— Matt Sydal vs. Pentagon Jr. began before the break.
(McMahon: The Boudreaux segment was really interesting. I can’t remember a wrestling company ever going out of their way to explain, so a detailed segment like that, why someone was granted their own talk show. That being said, I also felt like it was a jab at Vince McMahon and maybe even Vince Russo? Boudreaux is a throwback to the Sable diva. In an era where even WWE is pushing its women in regards to their wrestling ability, she wants to be pushed for her looks. There have always been rumblings that Russo and McMahon would just gawk at Sable. Impact management was portrayed in a similar way here.
SEGMENT 6
(3) Pentagon Jr. def. Matt Sydal
As soon as Pentagon scored the win, OVE appeared on the screen. The promo was being cut by Callihan on the OVE cam. Callihan said he looked like an idiot and everyone keeps talking about them online. Callihan said that someone from OVE had to shave their heads. Both Crist brothers said they weren’t going to do it. Callihan gave them 20 seconds to decide. Finally, Dave Crist said he would do it. But Callihan stopped him and said no, Jake had to do it. Callihan said OVE is a family, so they would look like a family. He demanded that Jake sit down and shave his head. Dave Crist took the clippers and shaved Jake’s head. Callihan said they were looking like a family.
(McMahon: The OVE story is getting more interesting. It has felt like they were trying to push a cult-like story for the last few months, but they never really took a big step in that direction. That changed here, with Callihan insisting they look alike and OVE shaves their heads).
SEGMENT 7
— LAX, with Konnan, came to the ring. Mathews recapped the brawl between LAX and OGz from earlier in the night, and said Konnan demanded the mic time tonight. Konnan said LAX wanted to finish the fight from earlier tonight, after the OGz jumped them to open the show. Konnan said that they could either come out, or LAX could go find them.
King and the OGz were up on the balcony. King told Konnan that he doesn’t tell them what to do. King said that they needed to take the fight to the streets. King asked Konnan if he was afraid. Konnan said that King must work hard to remain that stupid. Konnan said that he brought up King and the OGz. Konnan said there is only one group that runs the streets, and it’s LAX. After the back-and-forth ended, LAX and Konnan posed in the ring.
— Mathews and Callis reset at ringside. Mathews said it looked like an LAX-OGz street fight would happen next week, as well as Su Yung vs. Allie in a non-title match.
— Eddie Edwards was shown backstage getting ready for his World Title match.
SEGMENT 8
— A video package aired, narrated by Jimmy Jacobs, on Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact. Jacobs said if Impact wanted the monster, he’s got the monster, but Jacobs said at the end of the video that he’s the monster.
— Austin Aries vs. Eddie Edwards began before the break.
SEGMENT 9
(4) Austin Aries def. Eddie Edwards to retain the Impact World Title
During the commercial break, Josh Mathews said that literally nothing happened. Aries just ran from Edwards for the entire break, again selling that Aries was afraid of the new lunatic Eddie Edwards. Another highlight was when Edwards broke a Last Chancery by biting Aries’ finger. The finish came when Aries tried to bring him his belt to use as a weapon and Edwards kicked Aries with a low blow while the referee was distracted getting the belt out of the ring. Then, Aries spun Edwards into the referee, which took him out. Aries then brought the belt back into the ring but Edwards ducked a belt shot. Edwards hit a DDT and covered Aries for about an eight count, but there was no referee. Edwards saw the referee was down and went to get his kendo stick. Edwards took the kendo stick and hit the referee. Aries low-blowed Edwards but Edwards came back with a kendo stick shot on Aries. Edwards mounted Aries in the corner and choked him with the kendo stick. Killer Kross came to the ring and suplexed Edwards off Aries in the corner. Kross brought the World Title back to the corner as Aries hit the brainbuster for the win.
After the match, Kross laughed at ringside. Aries pointed at Kross and called him into the ring. Kross pulled out the red card and laid it on Edwards, to which Aries winked in approval.
(McMahon: Very interesting main event. Killer Kross is Aries’ hired hitman, I guess, which now connects the dots with why Kross attacked Anthony Carelli last week, and Carelli had a run-in with Aries earlier in the show. Overall, this was a very newsworthy edition of Impact).
You must have watched a different show than me. There were dueling chants during the Blanchard vs. Edwards match. The chanting of “lets go Lissa” are clearly heard amongst the let’s go Tessa and thank you Tessa chants. Why would they do a dueling chant for the same wrestler? They wouldn’t. The crowd was doing dueling chants in several matches.